Sorry I was MIA yesterday. I took a personal day off from teaching to go to Sonny Boy’s college piano recital – it included several students on various instruments, each playing one piece. Sonny is quite gifted in piano, and since his piece was the big finale, and a massive 9 minute piece, he was placed last on the schedule.

Now all of you mothers will really be able to appreciate this – when it was finally his turn to play, there was an awkward pause and then it was announced that the recital was over since Sonny was nowhere to be found! WHAT??? I took a day off of work, and Hubs took time off, and I’d even invited my new 70 year-old friend to come and he’s not even going to play?

The audience was small and informal, so the music professors asked me to text him. I knew that he had something for a class going on at the same time that he was trying to do both, but I thought he was going to do that after the recital. Apparently once he found out he was last on the program, he went to the class event first and tried to time it so that he’d make it back to the recital in time. Well, the recital was ahead of schedule and he cut it a bit too close. Luckily, within 5 minutes he arrived on stage and wowed everyone with his Brahms Rhapsody . Thank God that’s the part that will stay in their minds!

Then later in the day, I had to drive him to a place where he is getting paid for some grunt work, but because of the heavy snow followed by a steep drop in temperature, the roads were horrendously icy and it took me 3 hours total to drive across town and back – 5 mph. I almost missed Hubs’ Office Christmas Party completely!! Thank God they had an open bar – I definitely needed a drink.

So there you have it – why I was MIA yesterday!

Tracy – Maybe you’ll find that it’s more relaxing to get the shopping and wrapping done first and then the tree. It certainly will be fresh. You won’t want to take it down anytime soon, though. I usually want our tree up for a while after New Years when we put it up so late. Christmas with your in-laws will indeed be quick. Too bad you have to rush back. What is your choir doing this year? Will you have instrumentalists? Our choir (that I’m no longer a part of) is doing a Messiah sing-along with string quartet, so I guess I will be part of it! The last Sunday before Christmas is very close to Christmas this year! Those Killer Cupcakes! Wow. I’ll have to try that recipe. I did notice the proportionately low amount of flour and high number of eggs… Christmas plans – usually we rotate hosting Christmas Eve, spend Christmas Morning just us, and then go to my parents’ on Christmas Day. But since my parents are hosting both this year, and Daughter Dear is gone, *sniff* we’re going to spend the night at my parents’ house.Lynne – I hope your checkup went OK and that you don’t have anything to worry about.Sarah –Congrats on finding a car! What’s her name? Hey – I have a BD2 related question for you since you live in the region. I’ve been in those parts, and it just seems to me that the scene where she is driving back from Seattle and her meeting with Mr. Jenks that she is on the wrong side of the highway to be going in that direction! Granted they probably filmed in Vancouver or on Vancouver Island, but still, if she were going back to Forks. all the water would be to her right, and in that scene it’s to her left. Do you know what I mean? It’s like she is headed towards Seattle, not away from Seattle.

Marielle – Congrats on signing the papers for your house!! Have you been busy packing? That’s a lot of work. Be careful not to overdo it, OK?Sean – Will you have to be the main one to keep the wood stove going again this winter?Songbird – Thanks for backing me up on my BD2 snowy road complaint. When I eventually come to Holland and meet you, let’s try to sing together, OK? Is there such a thing as Karaoke there? With American show tunes? Summertime is my signature piece.Desiree – I’m impressed that your son does Tae kwon do. Very cool. Have you noticed that the discipline of it carries over to life at home or school?

Tonight was my Toastmasters Christmas Party and Hubs came as a guest. It was great to introduce him to my new group of speaking buddies. It was low-key with only 16 people there. We had a short program - 2 speakers.

I think I've had enough partying now for a while. Climbing into bed with Sense and Sensibility sounds pretty good to me right now.

Susie: I hope not, since I don't fancy staying up all night because I work now unless I have to. That's why I'm gonna try and get to sleep early tonight. At least I plan on finishing my story chapter and getting a few things done before then, though.

But it's not like summer where I can go to bed whenever I want to because someone has to stay up with the stove. Thankfully, it hasn't been insanely cold so far--as in in the teens or colder. But it's plenty cold for me IMO.

Sarah –Congrats on finding a car! What’s her name? Hey – I have a BD2 related question for you since you live in the region. I’ve been in those parts, and it just seems to me that the scene where she is driving back from Seattle and her meeting with Mr. Jenks that she is on the wrong side of the highway to be going in that direction! Granted they probably filmed in Vancouver or on Vancouver Island, but still, if she were going back to Forks. all the water would be to her right, and in that scene it’s to her left. Do you know what I mean? It’s like she is headed towards Seattle, not away from Seattle.

-Good question..I had to look it up because I've only gone to Forks coming from the west and then the North..when I looked it up (I'm about 45 mins south of Seattle), I'm guessing she took the route that would make the water on her left both ways..it's probably easier rather than crossing the mountains and if she drove like a true Cullen, that'd probably be the faster route.

No name yet, I'm toying with either a hunger games name since frankly, the orange reminds me of those books, but I'm still so partial to a Twilight name obviously. Suggestions are welcome!

Songbird: Remember that I was sort of complaining that I had little interaction with co-workers? Well, I talked a plenty to some today. Mostly about phone calls and such, but it was stuff that I thought that they should know about if I could catch them in person as opposed to just leaving a voice mail (which I did, but I caught them before they got back to their offices and explained my calls to their message boxes).

I might start getting ready to make my beef and noodles soon, so I have to start to thaw my steaks and finish up a few things on here. I've also decided that I won't work on my fan fic tonight--I want to get to bed early and have a good dinner, too--yep, home made beef and noodles

Just two days left before my holiday starts!! I’m really looking forward to not doing much until I get the key to my new house…

There isn’t much Rob news lately… but apparently Pre-production has started on the Rover. So I’m guessing Rob is flying to the other side of the world shortly after the new year.

Thoughts on BD2, the more I think about the movie and the mistakes they made the more I hated the vamp Bella meeting human Charlie scene. They started off good with Robward being angry and upset about Bella being in pain. Than as Charlie comes in Bella moves a bit and turns away to take a breath…… and than it’s like all the issues are over… No Jasper there to keep her calm, No Edward to stop her, no Renesmee to diffuse the scent…I just can’t get to see it as good…

Alright, now posts,

Sarah, I know how you feel about not focusing on the holiday. With the house thing I’m so out of it that I’m not even noticing it’s only 2 weeks till Christmas…Ah, I now understand how you get only rain. I live right next to the sea as well but on occasion it will get cold enough to snow. Most of the time it’s sleet and water with an identity crisis…Congrats on the car!!

Sean, I think that it’s good for you to have work and a regular rhythm for doing things. Staying at home and not doing much active can throw off your sleeping schedule. When working you don’t have a choice. For me it’s so set that even on my days off I’ll wake up at no later than 7 am. I’ve been doing that ever since I was 14. If I try to sleep during the day I just don’t manage to get a decent sleep at night. I understand the privacy thing. I used to have that too when I lived at home. It’s nice to have everybody gone and do what you want… now I have my own house it’s much better.Just start with getting up every day at the same time and go to bed around the same time. It will really help with getting your schedule fixed.

Susan, I’m surprised that Perfect Pitch isn’t in the cinema anymore… I saw the preview with BD2 as well, I thought it would be in cinema’s at least till Christmas. It’s a good Christmas movie. But I guess with all the blockbusters out now it’s hard to keep small movies in cinema’sTell your brother he isn’t a good brother!!! He should have remembered your bday. I’m blessed with my brother. He did call me on my bday all the way from Miami and got me a really nice necklace for my bday. He’s the best little brother I can wish for.

Lynne, thanks for the positive words… I just wish I could start believing you are right… I’m just seeing bears on the road when in fact they probably are butterflies…

Susie, I bet Sonny boy had you go nuts with him being a bit late…hihi..To be honest I haven’t even thought about starting to pack. I’m so out of it that is seems months away when I only have about 3 weeks to get everything packed. Right now I’m just still deathly afraid that something will go wrong and we end up houseless. The moment I get the key I’ll be running to get everything done.However the packing won’t be massive. Most things we have stored in boxes anyway. So it’s just throwing them into the car and placing them in the house on the right location. After I’m done with the move I’m going to start to take Yoga classes to get everything calm and relaxed again… right now I’m a mess anyway…

Well, I'd like to say my checkup went just fine and I have nothing further to worry about. Unfortunately, I can't do that. It seems that the tests were inconclusive because I'm "dense" and you can think what you like about that! The doctor recommended an MRI scan, which I'm sure won't be cheap, even with our public healthcare system, and I don't think there's a hope of getting in before Christmas, so I'll have to carry this load of stress with me until after Christmas. Great. Just what I wanted. On top of all that, when I got to school to pick Little Man up, I was told he'd just thrown up. Fortunately, he hasn't done it again, so I think it was just one of those things, but I didn't need that today.

Sarah - I'm glad you found a good car.

Susie - I'm glad Sonny Boy turned up for his recital and that it went well!

Happy Cake day!!!! I made Tracy's Killer Cupcakes and they are just as yummy as I thought!!

Lynne, I have no idea...it just came out in the theaters on the 20th of November, so it sure didn't stay very long! And I asked yesterday at the video store because the internet said blueray comes out the 18th, but the guy said he could only see up to January 15th, but it wasn't coming out in that time. So I guess I'll have to wait...my husband says he found it on a site where I can watch it for free, so I might do that.Yikes...no fun! I had to have the test done twice last time...the first time it was done by an intern and it was her first time doing the test, if you can imagine. I was very unhappy to have to go back and do it again and ready to insist that it be done by someone more experienced, but it went really well and it was a doctor's assistant who had plenty of experience. I'm sorry you will have to get the MRI. Is that not covered by insurance there?

Sarah, Glad you found a car! What kind is it? Did you get to drive it home? Over here, even when you buy a used car you can't drive it off the lot. We bought our previous car in May I think?? And didn't get to pick it up until July.

Sean, can you not just change the battery in the mouse? At least now you have a spare!I'm so glad you got to interact it bit more...who knows...soon you could be making friends and going out after work once in a while.

Susie, what a day!! You are, of course, forgiven...I hope they had some pretty strong alcohol at the Christmas party! You didn't have to drive home, though, did you? How far of a drive is it to where your son is again? My mom never got to come to my convocations because it was a 4 hour drive. But she DID come to my senior recital, and of course our Christmas programs every year. I have to ask you...are you a "clapping" mom? I don't think I ever saw my mom applaud, not even for my solos that I remember...she just wasn't the type. She was a musician herself and very hard to impress, but even if she was impressed, she wasn't one to show it. So I wondered if that was just my mom or if other musicians are like that, too. I can't imagine NOT clapping if my kids were performing, but I'm a lot more...perky? than my mother was.I don't know if they have Karaoke here...not that I've ever seen. But, maybe the next time I make it back to the states, you could come see me in Laramie while I'm visiting my brother. His husband is the manager at a bar called the Library (Don't lie to your mom, tell her you're at the library!) and they do "Briaryoake" every Saturday with Big Gay Jim. (3 guesses who Big Gay Jim is) There are pics on my facebook of their wedding and reception...the reception was held at The Library and they did Karaoke for it. My brother and I did a duet (very badly) which I hope was NOT filmed. We should definitely sing together though.Partied out?? I suggest a nice bath with a good book and hot chocolate (or something stronger if you prefer!)I saw that on the cupcake recipe too...I even checked again to make sure I wrote it down correctly...but it worked just fine, so it must be right.

Marielle, I thought it would still be in theaters, too....but it's not. I looked at the theaters in Arnhem, too, but it's not there either. I'll just either watch it on the computer or I'll wait until it comes out on DVD.You ARE very blessed with your brother. It seems like you have a great relationship with him...that's so nice. My brother and I used to be best friends. I miss that.Enjoy your vacation! It sounds like you really need it!

Song- it's a Kia Spectra5, a bit newer than my old Kia I drove it home last night..I can't imagine waiting that long! Good thing too, since we have to turn in my rental no later than Monday! Jason is driving the rental to work today for fun since I don't need it and he's slightly jealous of my new car

Susie- so glad everything worked out with the recital how exciting!!! I bet you are one proud momma!

Well, to give me a wonderful start to the day, I received a text from the mother of Little Man's best friend today. She was checking that Little Man was okay (he threw up at the end of school yesterday) and she was hoping he would be there today because it's her son's last day as the school. She's unhappy with the teacher they allocated her son for next year so she is removing him from the school! They weren't going to be in the same class anyway, but they could have played together at lunch and the little boy lives a few streets away. I know that they will lose contact now that they are going to different schools because he doesn't live quite close enough to see regularly and my son, being an only child and not even having any cousins, doesn't have a lot of friends or great social skills, so I'm gutted. Coming after yesterday I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything. Not to mention I still don't know who's going to be looking after the dog when we go away on Wednesday. I wish one thing could work out at the moment. Nothing is!

Weather update - the snow is melting a little now, but we got too much for it all to go away. The temp will go down tonight. We should get a little more snow this weekend.

Lynne - It does sound like you are being hit from all sides right now! Sorry about the health concern and especially that you won't be able to get a definitive answer anytime soon. Regarding your son - that happened to me with my kids and I felt just like you are feeling right now. I too, was always very empathetic about their social lives. All I can say is it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be as I projected it into the future. The near future was more important because so many other factors change as time goes on with kids. I think you should focus on the next few weeks and arranging play dates and don't worry about the next year in class. If your son detects that you are upset, he might be more upset than he might be on his own. At his age, he can't see long term. Let's hope there will be a new friend for him in class. My son also had trouble making friends, so I know this is a real problem. I'm certainly not trying to make light of it.Songbird - To answer your question, yes, I applaud my son whenever he performs. I haven't noticed any parents who DON'T. Did you get hurt feelings when your mom didn't applaud for you? I'm impressed you made Tracy's killer cupcakes already!

Sarah - Wow. You even did research to answer my question! Water on both sides? But that scene was forest on one side and water on the other. I suppose it could have been an inland lake or river. It's so beautiful up there! I've been to Seattle, Port Angeles, Vancouver Island and Vancouver itself. My sister-in-law lives on the Island in Parksvillem and her adult daughter and family live in Victoria. Nice places to visit.Sean - So who is going to tend to the stove if you don't do it? Your younger brother?

Marielle - I agree about the issues you have with the scene where Bella meets Charlie and for that matter, the fact that they didn't show her struggling at all. It was easy to forget she was a vampire. Sure she had the false eyelashes, and was stronger, but I never was reminded of the fact that she was thirsty. They glossed over that.

I just know Caryn will be making an appearance soon. I feel it in my bones. See you tomorrow!